Month: April 2023

Get advice and treatment for Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) at your local Pharmacist.

A new service has been launched in the North East and Cumbria to offer patients easy access to advice and treatment for UTIs.

The six-month pilot scheme, aimed at women aged 16-64, will enable local pharmacists to treat patients with UTIs without the need for a GP appointment or prescription, providing a more convenient option and faster access to treatment.

About UTIs

UTIs are one of the most common bacterial infections seen in female patients, with over 40 per cent of women likely to suffer from one in their lifetime.

Symptoms of a UTI include:

• Burning or stinging sensation on passing urine
• Needing to pass urine frequently or urgently
• Cloudy urine
• Passing excessive or large quantities of urine

Visiting a Pharmacy

There is a growing list of participating pharmacies across the North East and Cumbria.

No appointment is needed, and you can check which Pharmacists near you are taking part on the Pharmacy Services North East website.

Repeat dispensing allows us to send a series of repeat prescriptions to your pharmacy in one go.  Repeat dispensing is a system we have in place that is safe and efficient but most of all streamlined for both the surgery and patients.

Repeat dispensing is suitable for patients who already receive a monthly prescription however by signing up It will save unnecessary trips to the surgery each month to order as there will be a batch waiting for you at the pharmacy stored securely on the NHS database.

We will set up repeat dispensing annually, to last from your birthday month from this year to the next. It will be a series of one- or two-months prescriptions, given to the pharmacy in one go, that will last 12 months (or until your birthday, whichever is sooner).

If you are going away for an extended period, for example a holiday, the pharmacy can issue your next month's prescription early, so you have enough medication to take away with you on your travels!

If you feel like repeat dispensing is for you, please contact the surgery.

From April 2023 we have made some changes to our appointment system.

We are trying to reduce the demands for on the day appointments and increase the flexibility for our patients.

We have increased our pre-bookable face to face appointments and pre bookable telephone appointments with clinicians.

You can now book appointments up to 2 weeks in advance.

Extensive trials and research have been completed and it has been discovered that if patients book more than 2 weeks in advance the 'did not attend' rate goes up, patients forget their appointment, the issue has resolved, or they have been seen earlier and forgot to cancel their appointment.

All appointments are care navigated by our reception team to ensure you see the correct clinician for your issue.

Monday 3^rd April – 8am to 5pm

Tuesday 4^th April – 8am – 8pm

Wednesday 5^th April – 8am – 5pm

Thursday 6^th April – 8am – 8pm

Friday 7^th April – CLOSED

Saturday 8^th April - CLOSED

Sunday 9^th April - CLOSED

Monday 10^th April – CLOSED

Tuesday 11^th April – Return to normal opening times.

If you need medical assistance when we closed, please contact 111 either online at 111.NHS.uk or by phone on 111.

Thank you, Queens Road Surgery.